Reed for wind instruments



June 10, 1952 A. MONTENARE REED FOR WIND INSTRUMENTS 2 SHEETSSHEET 1Filed Dec. 23, 1949 R O -1 A E V W.

ATTORNEY June 10, 1952 A. MONTENARE REED FOR WIND INSTRUMENTS 2SHEETSSHEET 2 Filed Dec. 25, 1949 INVENTOR ATTORNEY nfikanyiz ieimre;

Patented June 10, 1952 574 IEED on wmn nysT-RU pNTs,

Wai we 595?? T e .i Y .1 n ne ndesgrihed ad .czlelmefl r a es to wind oerate m s ca strumen e more, ar c rly to an m r vement i reed o su m icn t m ntsis inven on is an improvement over those shown and, qlgi meplin my prior is ued. nited State a ents N mer 9 5J0 te e em er 8 3% and 22 4 3 5! anted Feb u ry 24) .94.21

Am ne the o e s o the P e e t nventi n i he p isi n O a r a bl qk. a ina wid on ue: to i pmve the. tonal que itieeefithe teed bx weed n e e? ba th evel a es ve ewes. w imh r e' n v in mtofi v-r e' f 2 01 o iurth em e. her ed 295 q r. flee by" pr idin we blo ewe whi h e e e tesi on iudi al y tqwer the free? we f the tongue supportec l by the. reed block;to empli fy. end swe ten the tohe from the I eed by providing aspeeiel'oonstruction ofreedffilock; 15p provide a] valve oorist'ru'dtiohfor' e'at'oh feed plook'ftvhiioh eliiili'nate the oldtype'of'jsijdevtal'v e nh'a ximuni' depth in therf'ee'd b ock, for, mov rhemqrcthweeqg to piov ide foohstfuotioh'wh ein the tongii'e'may beet'lealt'iiertiallyffroun for tiihihg' while no the reed block; and bn'botfi"sidejs thereof to provide in one of its forms e twciffia'rt reed blobkhavi 'rig mathirlg idoi'reg, thef p311", of mgmhipf grooves each" i'dei'6f the to gl'ie foijniifi'g in effegfihoiinsf'to providftohgue offspe al'airrerentjc 'figuratiohsfi'ie 'p? squa'r'e'to givethd V V Video a, tong11 with. a; 'weight'of "s uc weightor size tol gitfefi'ti p lfbperfblahoe, am; to" provide a ee lq' l t will be he p m m nur q u. 1largeduantities? J v w t. e "'"Other objects. will be @Dparent fz om an1; epectionof the" drawings and" o'f'the'; following In the drawingsFigure lis "a' vertical sectional view taken through the"1ongitudin'a1Cent "pogtion of "'a. a i i l; bliQ 7 central partitions 4 F gure 1 eter gal tiqn lat th ree sh w in Eiguv-e' i. and n he. line, thereof. I 3

i refi is a P n e th rd m s m t n of a, n e bl ck ham, an

F u e 9 is a a Y ew- Q the op gfite $919 1 t e med a sh wn in i u e mtime we 9?; the. tsetse? tie tramverse walls 34, 36 that provide anadditional chamber 33 and extending centrally of the chamber and held inposition by rivet 22 is a flap valve 48. This is preferably of flexiblematerial such as rubber or artificial rubber. The flap valve extends inthe same plane as the tongue 26.

The reed block sections I8, 20 are provided with apertures 42, 44respectively.

As seen particularly in Figure 4, the sides of each reed block areprovided with pairs of sloping concave sides 46, 48, the oppositelyfacing side 46, 48 forming a horn shaped passage K1 on each side of thetongue, and these passages are horn shaped becaue like the longitudinalstraight passage extending forwardly from the mouth piece of a bugle,the passages 5!! become progres= sively larger in cross section from theend of the reed block adjacent the fixed end of the tongue towards thefree end thereof. These passages 50, including their shape and theirplacement with relation to tongue 26, are important features whichdistinguish the present invention from the prior art devices.

The sides of the passages are closed by a removable covering 52 that hasportions 54 and 53 respectively which preferably cover the exposed opentop of one of the sections and acros both ends of the sections.

Figure 5 is a modification of the embodiment shown in Figures 1 to 4..In Figure 5 which only shows one of the reed sections 54, it will beunderstood that the other reed section composing the pair of reedsections similar to that shown in Figure 4 will be the same as thesection 54. The other block section is the same as the block sectionshown except, of course, only one tongue 56 would be used for the pairof reed block sections. This tongue is provided with a fixed end 58 anda free end (it. The aperture 62 corresponds to either of the aperturesd2 or 44 of the structure shown in Figure 3. The two halves, only one ofwhich is shown, are riveted to each other through the holes I54 and 66in the same manner as will be noted by reference to Figure 3.

The principal difference of the reed block when formed, of a pair ofreed sections such as shown in Figure 5, is that one or preferably bothreed sections are provided with slanting sides 68 and 10, which sidesare preferably plain surfaces. It will also be noted that each end I2 ofthese inclined sides which is adjacent the fixed end of the tongue 56 iswider than the forward ends.

For example, by referring to slanting side 68, it will be noted that theedges M and Iii converge toward each other and that the end it which isadjacent to the free end of the tongue is defined by a line which is ofless distance than the line 80 which is adjacent the fixed end of thetongue. In order to provide this surface of the slanting side 68 whichis the same as the surface of the slanting side It, either side edge '34or IS may converge, but is is preferable that the upper side edge 16converge rather than the lower edge 14, but it is within the scope ofthis invention to provide a slanting side having both of its side edges74 and I6 converging toward each other.

It is also within the scope of this invention, although not disclosed,to provide, instead of the sloping concave sides shown at 48 in Figure 4or the plain sides shown in l8 and I2 of Figure 5 to provide thesesurfaces as convex surfaces. Referring again to Figures 1 to 4, thetongue 26 vibrates in a space IIlIl formed by the space in the reedsections both above and below the tongue shown in Figure 4..Additionally, there is a space I62 in the reed section shown in Figure 5in which the tongue 56 may vibrate, and in a corresponding space shownin the complementary reed section which is attached to the reed sectionshown in Figure 5.

In Figures 6 and 7, 82 indicates a reed block consisting ofcomplementary reed sections 84 and 86, these reed sections beingattached to each other by the rivets 88 and 99 The tongue 92 has endsfixed and attached by means of the rivet 9t and its free end is providedwith a weight 94 which provides an equal amount of weight on each sideof the tongue. The additional chamber 96 is similar to the chamber 38except that it is substantially cylindrical in cross section as seen inFig. 6. In this chamber there is a free reed or member $8 which iscylindrical in cross section as seen in Figures 6 and '7, and the cham--ber is provided with apertures H34 and I06 corresponding to apertures 42and 44 in Figure 3. The free reed corresponds to the flap valve 40 shownin Figure 3 inasmuch as it is adapted to close either aperture IE4 orI96 according to the movement of wind within the reed.

Another essential difference and important feature of inventiondisclosed in Figures 6 and 7 are the substantially semi-cylindricalgrooves H38 and H8. These grooves are narrower at the ends H2 and radiusincreases gradually toward their opposite ends I I4, that is, the endsadjacent to the free end of the tongue. These pairs of grooves when thesections are attached to each other as shown in Figures 6 and '7 formpassageways the radius of which becomes progressively larger and to thisextent they resemble the passageway in a bugle adjacent to themouthpiece thereon which also becomes greater in radius as it progressestoward the first turn of the bugle. It will be noted that the inner endsIII; and II8 gradually separate from each other as seen in Figure 6.This construction of grooves and centrally positioned tongue, as well asthe additional chamber all add materially to the tonal qualities of thewind instrument of which they form a part.

Referring to Figure 9, the reed block is indicated by the numeral I29and this reed block consists of a pair of sections one of which I22 isshown in Figure 8. The sections are held to each other by rivets I24 andI26 and the space for the tongue I28 to vibrate in is indicated by I30.

The additional space is indicated by th numeral I32 and leading intothis space are a pair of openings I34 and I36. which openings onlyextend through one of the sections, the opposite ends being closed.Clamped by means of the rivets I24 and I26 are a pair of flap valves I38 and I40 which extend between the sections in the same way that theflap valve 40 extends between the sections as shown in Figure 3.

It will be noted that the tongue I28 is provided with a weight I42 onits free end, and thi free end is provided with a point I44 havingslanting sides I45 and I48. Although a pointed tongue is shown it shouldbe appreciated that this tongue may be rounded to form a half circle, orthe free end of the tongue may be provided with right angled corners asshown in Figures 1 and 5. It has been determined that the tonalqualities vary considerably according to the shape of the end of thetongue. A tongue having an end of the shape shown in Figure 8 may dependupon the instrument used and other factors (such as the shape and sizeof the grooves) as. for instance,

shown at I08 and H in Figure '7 or the sides I0 and '12 in Figure or theconcave side shown in Figure 4. The shape of the end of the tongue mayalso depend upon the shape and size of the additional chambers such asshown at 38 in Fi ure 3 or 96 of Figures 6 and 7.

Referring again to Figures 6 and 7, it will be noted that the reed blockhas a cover I46 similar to the cover 5% having ends its and IE0. How'-ever, there is a raised portion on this cover indicated at I52 for thepurpose of fitting in the air cells 6 of the cell block. A specialadvantage, in addition to that of improving the tonal qualities of thereeds, is to provide cell blocks composed of complementary sections offairly rugged material, .because. as will be noted by reference toFigures 3, 4, 5, 6 and 8, such reed block sections may be easilyproduced by a comparatively simple molding operation. In other words,the section shown in Figure 5, for instance, without the tongue may bereadily molded by pouring molten metal in a mold which will readilyproduce the reed block sections. A large number of molds may be filledone after the other, thus producing a large number of reed blocksections and such reed block sections may be in conformity with thestructure shown in other figures, such as Figure 4 or 6 showing otherforms of the invention. After the sections have been molded, the tonguesare inserted in the proper place and the sections are connected togetherby riveting, the flap valve 58 is inserted or the free reed 98 whichcomprises a valve is inserted, the covers shown in the several figuresare then applied and the reed block is ready for use. reed 98 may beinserted after the sections have been riveted to each other before thecover has been applied.

In the present invention the tongues may be filed down on both sideswithout taking the same out of the reed block and this is a greatadvantage as it saves much time and effort in tuning the reeds, as inthe present invention it is only necessary to remove the cover, which isusually made of paper or some easily removable material before filingeither or both sides of the tongue. lhe shape of the reed block enablesa particularly wide reed to be used in the present construction and thisis an insurance against frequent tuning. However, when the reed doesneed tuning, the tongue may be readily filed down by using a flat fileor a rat tail file, by merely putting a support under the tongue so asto hold it in proper position for the filing operation. Although severalforms of the invention have been shown, it is to be understood that thereeds shown are not necessarily limited thereto as they may be appliedto any other wind instruments which rely on reeds for the musicalsounds. It is to be further understood that the drawings and descriptionof the present invention are for illustrative purposes and not to beconstrued in limiting the invention to the constructions shown, as Idesire to be limited only to the extent set forth by the appendedclaims.

I claim:

1. A reed for wind instruments comprising a reed block, a tongue havingends, one of which ends being fixed in said reed block and the other endbeing free, said tongue extending substantially medially along thelongitudinal axis of said reed block and said reed block having slopingsides on both sides of said tongue, said sides forming passages varyingin width from the fixed to the free end of the tongue.

If desired, the free 2. A reed for wind instruments comprisingla reedblock, a tongue having ends, one of which ends being fixed in said reedblock and the other end being free, said tongue extending substantiallymedially along the longitudinal axis of said reed block and said reedblock having sloping concave sides on both sides of said tongue, saidsloping concave sides forming horn shaped passages varying in size fromthefixed to the free end of said tongue.

3. 'A reed for wind instruments comprising .a reed block, a tonguehaving ends, one-of which ends being fixed in said reed block andtheother end being free, said tongue extendingsubstarb tially mediallyalong the longitudinal axis o'fsaid reed block and said :reed blockhaving sloping plain sides on both sides of said tongue, said slopingplain sides forming passages extendin substantially the length of saidtongue and progressively increasing in diameter from one end of thetongue to its other end.

4. A reed for wind instruments comprising a reed block, a tongue havingends, one of said ends being fixed in said reed block and the other endbeing free, said tongue extending substantially medially along thelongitudinal axis of said reed block, an additional chamber in saidblock located adjacent to and above the free end of said tongue, saidadditional chamber having angled sides and a flap valve mounted in saidchamber.

5. A reed for wind instruments comprising a reed block composed of aplurality of sections, a tongue having ends, one of said ends beingfixed in said reed block and the other end being free, said tongueextending substantially medially along the longitudinal axis of saidreed block, an additional chamber in said block located adjacent to andabove the free end of said tongue, said additional chamber having angledsides and a flap valve mounted in said chamber having an end fixedwithin said chamber.

6. A reed for wind instruments comprising a reed block, a tongue havingends, one of said ends being fixed in said reed block and the other endbeing free, said tongue extending substantially medially along thelongitudinal axis of said reed block, an additional chamber in saidblock above and adjacent the free end of said tongue and a free floatingvalve member in said chamber.

7. A reed for wind instruments comprising a reed block, a tongue havingends, one of said ends being fixed in said reed block and the other endbeing free, said tongue extending substantially medially along thelongitudinal axis of said reed block, an additional chamber in saidblock above and adjacent the free end of said tongue, a pair of openingsin said chamber and a pair of flap valves each having an end fixed insaid chamber adapted to close one of said openings.

8. A reed for wind instruments comprising a reed block, a tongue havingends, one of said ends being fixed in said reed block and the other endbeing free, said tongue extending substantially medially along thelongitudinal axis of said reed block, an additional chamber in saidblock located adjacent to and above the free end of said tongue, saidchamber having a valve member mounted therein, said block having slopingsides forming passages varying in width from the fixed to the free endof the tongue.

9. A reed for wind instruments comprising a reed block, a tongue havingends, one of said ends being fixed in said reed block and the other endbeing free, said tongue extending substan- 7 tially medially along thelongitudinal axis ofsaid reed block, an additional chamber in said blocklocated adjacent to and above the free end of said tongue, said chamberhaving a valve member mounted therein, said block having sloping concavesides on both sides of said tongue, said sloping concave sides forminghorn shaped passages varying in size from the fixed to the free end ofsaid tongue.

10 A reed for wind instruments comprising a reed block, a tongue havingends, one of said ends being fixed in said reed block and the other endbeing free, s'aid tongue extending substantially medially along thelongitudinal axis of said reed block, an additional chamber in saidblock above 15 Number and adjacent the free end of said tongue and afree floating valve member in said chamber, said block having a grooveon each side of said tongue, the radius of each groove varying in sizefrom the fixed to the free end of said tongue.

ANTHONY MONTENARE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,456,298 Miller Dec. 14, 1948FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date 526,662 France of 1921

